“A truthful man (or woman) cannot long remain violent. He will perceive in the course of his search that he has no need to be violent…” ~ Gandhi, Young India, May 20, 1925

One of Gandhi’s startling—and when you think about it, inspiring—characteristics was his ability to accept, even insist upon, others finding their own way to the truth. The Holy Quran says famously that “there is (to be) no compulsion in matters of religion,” for the very practical reason that people who are compelled to adopt something will be always looking for a way to get back to their real belief. Compulsion is superficial. Sometimes you cannot wait to persuade an opponent, for example a despot whom you have a narrow window of opportunity to dislodge before he does further damage. But principled nonviolence, as Gandhi understood it, always looks to the long term—and always to the dignity, agency and independence of the human being. Happily, in the great scheme of things, these two values are never in conflict.

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About Daily Metta

Stephanie Van Hook, the Metta Center’s executive director, launched Daily Metta in 2015 as a way to share Gandhi’s spiritual wisdom and experiments with nonviolence.

Our 2016 Daily Metta continues with Gandhi on weekdays. On weekends, we share videos that complement Michael Nagler’s award-winning book, The Search for a Nonviolent Future: A Promise of Peace for Ourselves, Our Families, and Our World. To help readers engage with the book more deeply, the Metta Center offers a free PDF study guide.

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